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Old 10-18-2020, 11:36 AM   #4
JohnMckroidJr
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 1,848
My apologies for the late reply -- somehow missed the notifications. Congratulations to the winners!

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/communi...6gi-story.html

Luck was not on my side for the last tournament, starting with the purchased bait. The reportedly "pen cured" had lesions and cataracts! Had I received the goggle-eyes from the other bait boat, probably would have had been fine. A wahoo had been taken out deep the day before, so my plan was to try to hit the areas where they sometimes frequent. Unfortunately, the current was ripping 2kts, making it exhausting to present a natural-looking bait in the right zones. I ended up with a 10lb king mackerel.

The guys who caught a couple of kings in shallower placed. The first and third place anglers caught their own bait that morning which turned out to be a big advantage. Second place was returning to the beach empty handed fighting the current in shallow when the big African Pompano hit. With all due respect for the angler, it was a very lucky strike. That was the kind of luck that gives anyone a shot at placing at these events. Four years back, a first-time Nth Carolina angler caught a 52lb Wahoo, when he brought it to the beach, he thought he had a Barracuda. Three years back a first time Puerto Rican angler took a 59lb Wahoo on a vertical jig -- Probably the heaviest wahoo ever taken anywhere off a kayak on a vertical jig. When Extreme Kayak fishing Tournaments occur there seems to be a little bit of magic in the water.

I did not participate in the sailfish smackdown this year, and overall have participated in about 2/3rds of the Extreme Kayak Tournaments since I started kayak fishing back in 2014. They are awesome, and probably have a larger effect on the kayak fishing industry than the sponsors think. I did have a lucky day back in 2017, earning the Championship ring, record for heaviest fish and most combined weight ever. If you ever decide to participate, LMK.

https://www.extremekayakfishingtourn...records.html#/
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